Nightmare of Darkness: Ashram's Story
by Gemini14
Summary: Everyone knows the story of how Parn became a knight, but what about Ashram? What made him the way he is? Here's my take on what Ashram's journey to knighthood must have been like.
1. Prologue

Nightmare of Darkness: Ashram's Story

Prologue

A little boy watches as his parents are brutally murdered right before his eyes. Tears flow freely down his face as he watches the murderers approach him, their weapons raised. 

"Please……………..don't hurt me………….Don't hurt me!" the boy screams, as he tries to back away from the quickly advancing murderers.

"I can't let you live, boy. There can be no witnesses." one murderer snarls, as he reaches for the boy's unprotected throat. 

"No…………….NO!" The boy screamed, before his throat was grabbed and darkness enveloped him.

Beld sighed as he descended down the ship's gangplank. He had just returned from Lodoss as a Hero. Even though he was a hero, his heart was heavy with grief. One of his friends had perished in the Labyrinth and he still grieved for her. 

"Sir, look at that! Smoke!" one knight yelped, as he pointed out the thick black smoke that rose in the distance.

"There must be a fire somewhere, come on!" Beld shouted, as he mounted a horse and galloped off in the direction the smoke was coming from. When they arrived at the scene, they see some dark figures fleeing into the growing gloom of evening. Bodies are strewn all over the farmyard as Beld walks slowly through, taking in the horrific sight. 

"Sir! Come and see!" another knight yelps, getting Beld's attention. Rushing over to the young knight, Beld sees that the knight is holding a limp figure in his arms.

"A child? Does he still live?" Beld asks.

"Yes. But he needs a healer right away." The knight murmurs, as the child whimpers and stirs in his arms.

"Let me take him." Beld says, as he takes the boy from the knight.

"_Poor lad. He can't be older than ten or eleven_…………._still, he's old enough to begin training as a knight._" Beld thinks, as the boy opened his eyes and looked up at him.

"It's all right, lad, you're safe now. Rest easy, now." Beld said, gently. The boy continued to stare at him with wide eyes.

"Can you tell me your name?" Beld asked.

"M-my name……………..is Ashram……………sir………………" the boy choked, through a badly bruised throat.

"Well, young Ashram, it looks as though you are coming with me." Beld said, calmly. Ashram looks away for a moment, his eyes looking at what had once been his home, then he looks back at Beld.

"It's not like I have anywhere else to go, sir." Ashram murmured, softly. As Beld carried Ashram back to his horse, he became aware that the boy could possibly even be trained to take over for him, someday. 

"Then let's go, Ashram of Marmo." Beld said, as he mounted and rode away, leaving the job of burial of the dead to his knights.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Years pass and a boy grows into a man. Ashram panted as he sparred with his teacher, Sir Darthian. 

"You're getting better, young Ashram. Your sword skills are almost better than mine." The knight commented, as his squire gracefully avoided getting his side slashed and thrust his own sword into his teacher's defense. Ashram said nothing; his mind was solely on his sword. With a deft flick of his wrist, Ashram sent Darthian's sword flying.

"I believe that the day is mine, Sir Darthian." Ashram said, coolly, as he pressed the tip of his sword to his teacher's throat.

"Yes, I believe so too. Good job, Ashram. I'd say that you are ready to become a knight." Darthian said, getting a satisfied smirk from Ashram. Ashram had turned twenty only a few weeks prior, and he was ready for knighthood. 

"I wonder if I will be chosen this year? I wasn't ready last year." Ashram muttered, as he started polishing Darthian's saddle, with a look of distaste on his face.

"I don't see why you shouldn't be chosen, Ashram, since you're more capable than the other squires I have seen. You have the mind of a brilliant general and the physical abilities of Beld in his prime." Darthian said, before something dark caught his eye. 

"Ashram!" Darthian shouted, as he whipped his sword out and stood ready. Ashram quickly followed suit. Five dark figures emerged from the shadows, all with wicked looking weapons in their hands.

"This is going to get ugly…………" Darthian muttered, as the five were joined by at least ten more. Ashram nodded in agreement, his attention solely on the strangers.

Beld looked up as messengers came before him. They had just come from the far end of the island, with complaints from the villages there. No sooner did they begin speaking, when a man entered the throne room, looking frantic.

"Sire! There's a young man at the gate! He says he needs to speak to you!" the man shouted. Beld was immediately alert; he knew that the only man who usually did that was Darthian.

"Take me to him!" Beld demanded, as he dashed out of the room, leaving the messengers standing before the throne. After a few moments, Beld arrived at the gate, but, when he looked at the man who stood there, he was almost sickened by what he saw. The man wasn't Darthian, but it was the man that had always accompanied him to the gate. Ashram was covered in blood from various wounds and shuddered as he stood at the gate. 

"Ashram……………….what in the god's graces happened to you? And where is Sir Darthian?" Beld asked, as Ashram stood before him, unmoving.

"Darthian's dead milord……………..and soon so will…………." Ashram trailed off, before collapsing at Beld's feet.

"Get him to a healer at once! Now!" Beld shouted, as the guards scrambled to do his bidding. As they all carried Ashram's limp form to the royal healer, the guards wondered why the Emperor of all Marmo cared about someone as insignificant as a young squire. But they did his bidding, regardless; to not do so, would mean death.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

When Ashram next awoke, he was in the castle infirmary. To his surprise, Emperor Beld hovered at his side, looking for all the world like an anxious father. 

"Beld-sama……………" Ashram whispered, wincing when the effort of speaking strained his throat. 

"Don't try to speak. You've had a rough time. Rest easy now." Beld said, gently; the gentleness belying his rough exterior. Despite his best efforts, Ashram found it hard to resist the urge to drift back off into dreamless sleep. His eyelids felt weighted and heavy, and his body screamed for rest, even though he'd just woken up. 

"Beld-sama……………..Sir Darthian…………….." Ashram murmured, painfully.

"I know. Rest now, we'll talk on this later." Beld said, as the wounded squire drifted into exhausted slumber. Even though he had been relieved when Ashram had opened his eyes, Beld knew that a long, uncertain road lay before his favored squire. The healers had used all their powers putting Ashram's insides back together, and even now waited for their powers to recharge before trying again. When Ashram awoke again, he was alone. 

"_Where_………………….._?_" Ashram wondered, as he tried to sit up, wincing when he found that his body still hurt. 

"Don't try to move. It will only make the pain worse." A soft feminine voice said, as the owner appeared before him.

"Where am I?" Ashram asked, trying, unsuccessfully, to hide the fact that he was disoriented.

"In the castle infirmary. Emperor Beld had strict orders for us to bring you here and tend to your wounds." The healer said, quietly, as she glanced at the bandages that adorned most of Ashram's upper half. 

"I see. Has anyone else been attacked?" Ashram asked, not really concerned for his fellow squires, but curious as to whether or not they had had the same fate befall them. The healer hung her head in sadness.

"Yes, there were several more wounded after you. Though most of them were not as severely hurt, a few of them have succumbed to their injuries. You were fortunate; the Emperor seems to have taken a liking to you." The healer said, as she helped Ashram sit up and allowed a servant to enter the room with a tray of food. Ashram raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything more. As he ate his dinner, the healer kept at her duties, knowingly giving him the silence he desired. He sighed quietly; his chances at becoming a knight were slim now, considering his injuries and the loss of his mentor. He jumped slightly when the healer's cat jumped onto his lap and snatched a piece of meat from his plate.

"Sneak." Ashram muttered, for some reason feeling a little weight lift from his shoulders as he stroked the smoky gray cat. The cat purred, arching its back in response to his callused fingers. 

"I see that Hibiki likes you. He doesn't do that to everyone. The only other person he allows to touch him (other than myself, of course) is Emperor Beld." The healer said, as the cat rolled over onto his back and allowed Ashram to tickle his belly. For a few precious seconds, Ashram allowed himself to forget his cold façade and play with the cat, which was enjoying the attention it was getting. 

**__**

One Year Later

Ashram breathed in the crisp, cool air of an autumn afternoon. Even though it was almost always cold on Marmo, this day was milder than most. For some reason, part of him reveled in the fact that he was alive, but that feeling was hidden beneath a mask of indifference. Not long ago, in fact, almost three months prior, he'd become a knight. In the ensuing months, he'd risen in rank to become one of Beld's most trusted generals. He was cool-headed and intelligent; he'd even heard women whispering behind his back about him being 'devilishly handsome'………but he'd shrugged that comment off with his usual nonchalance. That particular part didn't matter. He didn't want to get bogged down by love. He was riding along when he heard some angry shouts coming from where his underlings and some Dark Elves were gathered. Silently he dismounted and went through the men, some of them realizing who he was and moving quickly to get out of his way. When Ashram had gotten to the cause of the ruckus, he wasn't in the least bit surprised. One of his underlings had gotten drunk and was now harassing a beautiful female Dark Elf. Needless to say, her kin were not pleased with the human's audacity and they were now baying for blood. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Ashram asked, as he grabbed the man's arm and gave him an icy glare.

"N-nothin…………….General Ashram, sir! I-I was just leavin'!" the man stuttered, after Ashram had thrown him to the ground. Ashram didn't see the female Dark Elf's amused smile, nor did he see the looks of astonishment being exchanged amongst the other Dark Elves.

"_Now he's interesting! He might be worth getting to know._" The female Dark Elf thought, as she watched Ashram move away from the group, with the intent to further reprimand the drunken man. 


End file.
